Employment increased in Nevada’s two large counties from September 2013 to September 2014, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (Large counties are defined as those with employment of 75,000 or more as measured by 2013 annual average employment.) Clark County’s employment rose 4.7 percent and Washoe County’s employment rose 2.7 percent. Regional Commissioner Richard J. Holden noted that that the over-the-year employment increases in both counties exceeded the national increase of 2.0 percent. 

Nationally, employment advanced 2.0 percent from September 2013 to September 2014 as 306 of the 339 largest U.S. counties gained jobs. Weld, Colo., had the largest percentage increase over the year (8.8 percent). Atlantic, N.J., had the largest over-the-year decrease in employment with a loss of 4.0 percent.

Employment in Clark County (883,200) and Washoe County (196,600) accounted for 88.8 percent of total employment within the state. Nationwide, the 339 largest counties made up 71.8 percent of total U.S. employment, which stood at 137.7 million in September 2014. (See table 1.)

Average weekly wages increased over the year in both Washoe County (up 0.6 percent to $854) and Clark County (up 0.5 percent to $823). Nationally, the average weekly wage increased 2.0 percent over the year to $949 in the third quarter of 2014. (See table 1.)

Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the 15 counties in Nevada with employment below 75,000. Average weekly wages in these counties ranged from $1,613 to $734 during the third quarter of 2014. (See table 2.)

Large county wage changes

Average weekly wage growth in Washoe County (0.6 percent) and Clark County (0.5 percent) ranked 315^th and 317^th, respectively, among the 339 largest U.S. counties. (See table 1.) Nationally, 328 large counties registered over-the-year wage increases. Olmsted, Minn., had the largest wage gain, up 11.1 percent from the third quarter of 2013. San Francisco, Calif., was second with a wage increase of 8.6 percent, followed by Santa Clara, Calif. (7.4 percent), and San Mateo, Calif. and Brazoria, Texas (7.1 percent each).

Among the largest U.S. counties, 10 experienced over-the-year wage decreases. Collier, Fla., had the largest wage decrease with a loss of 3.9 percent. Dane, Wis., had the second largest decrease in average weekly wages, down 2.2 percent from the third quarter 2013, followed by Williamson, Texas. (-0.8 percent), Hamilton, Ind. (-0.7 percent), and Shawnee, Kan. (-0.4 percent).

Large county average weekly wages

Average weekly wages in both of Nevada’s large counties were below the national average of $949 per week. Washoe County’s $854 average weekly wage placed near the middle of the ranking among the 339 large U.S. counties, ranking 186^th. At $823 per week, Clark County’s average weekly wage placed 226^th.

Nationwide, average weekly wages were above the U.S. average ($949) in 99 large counties in the third quarter of 2014. Santa Clara, Calif., recorded the highest average weekly wage at $2,012, followed by San Mateo, Calif. ($1,824), New York, N.Y. ($1,733), San Francisco, Calif. ($1,685), and Washington, D.C. ($1,631).

There were 237 large counties with an average weekly wage below the U.S. average in the third quarter of 2014. Horry County, S.C. ($580), reported the lowest wage, followed by the counties of Cameron, Texas ($603), Hidalgo, Texas ($616), Marion, Fla. ($644), and Pasco, Fla. ($650).

Average weekly wages in Nevada’s smaller counties

Of the 15 counties in Nevada with employment below 75,000, Eureka recorded the highest average weekly wage at $1,613. Lincoln reported the lowest average weekly wage in the state at $734 in the third quarter of 2014. (See table 2.)

When all 17 counties in Nevada were considered 5 had wages below $800. Four counties reported average weekly wages ranging from $800 to $899, four had wages from $900 to $999, and four had wages at or above $1000. (See chart 1.)

Additional statistics and other information

QCEW data for states have been included in this release in table 3. For additional information about quarterly employment and wages data, please read the Technical Note or visit www.bls.gov/cew.

Employment and Wages Annual Averages Online features comprehensive information by detailed industry on establishments, employment, and wages for the nation and all states. The 2013 edition of this publication, which was published in September 2014, contains selected data produced by Business Employment Dynamics (BED) on job gains and losses, as well as selected data from the first quarter 2014 version of the national news release. Tables and additional content from Employment and Wages Annual Averages 2013 are now available online at https://www.bls.gov/cew/publications/employment-and-wages-annual-averages/2013/home.htm. The 2014 edition of Employment and Wages Annual Averages Online will be available in September 2015.

The County Employment and Wages release for fourth quarter 2014 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, June 17, 2015.

Technical Note

Average weekly wage data by county are compiled under the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) program, also known as the ES-202 program. The data are derived from summaries of employment and total pay of workers covered by state and federal unemployment insurance (UI) legislation and provided by State Workforce Agencies (SWAs). The 9.4 million employer reports cover 137.8 million full- and part-time workers. The average weekly wage values are calculated by dividing quarterly total wages by the average of the three monthly employment levels of those covered by UI programs. The result is then divided by 13, the number of weeks in a quarter. It is to be noted, therefore, that over-the-year wage changes for geographic areas may reflect shifts in the composition of employment by industry, occupation, and such other factors as hours of work. Thus, wages may vary among counties, metropolitan areas, or states for reasons other than changes in the average wage level. Data for all states, Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs), counties, and the nation are available on the BLS Web site at www.bls.gov/cew/; however, data in QCEW press releases have been revised and may not match the data contained on the Bureau’s Web site.

QCEW data are not designed as a time series. QCEW data are simply the sums of individual establishment records reflecting the number of establishments that exist in a county or industry at a point in time. Establishments can move in or out of a county or industry for a number of reasons–some reflecting economic events, others reflecting administrative changes.

The preliminary QCEW data presented in this release may differ from data released by the individual states as well as from the data presented on the BLS Web site. These potential differences result from the states’ continuing receipt, review and editing of UI data over time. On the other hand, differences between data in this release and the data found on the BLS Web site are the result of adjustments made to improve over-the-year comparisons. Specifically, these adjustments account for administrative (noneconomic) changes such as a correction to a previously reported location or industry classification. Adjusting for these administrative changes allows users to more accurately assess changes of an economic nature (such as a firm moving from one county to another or changing its primary economic activity) over a 12-month period. Currently, adjusted data are available only from BLS press releases.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Federal Relay Service: (800) 877-8339.

Table 1. Covered employment and wages in the United States and the 2 largest counties in Nevada, third quarter 2014

Area	Employment			Average Weekly Wage (1)
	September 2014 (thousands)	Percent change, September 2013-14 (2)	National ranking by percent change (3)	Average weekly wage	National ranking by level (3)	Percent change, third quarter 2013-14 (2)	National ranking by percent change (3)
United States (4)	137,724.1	2.0	--	$949	--	2.9	--
Nevada	1,215.8	4.0	--	840	28	0.5	51
Clark, Nev.	883.2	4.7	15	823	226	0.5	317
Washoe, Nev.	196.6	2.7	96	854	186	0.6	315
Footnotes: (1) Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data. (2) Percent changes were computed from quarterly employment and pay data adjusted for noneconomic county reclassifications. (3) Ranking does not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands. (4) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.
Note: Data are preliminary. Covered employment and wages includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs.

Table 2. Covered employment and wages in the United States and all counties in Nevada, third quarter 2014

Area	Employment September 2014	Average Weekly Wage (1)
United States (2)	137,724,117	$949
Nevada	1,215,845	840
Carson City	27,846	890
Churchill	7,728	792
Clark	883,189	823
Douglas	18,382	792
Elko	22,495	918
Esmeralda	385	1,031
Eureka	4,408	1,613
Humboldt	8,064	1,006
Lander	3,527	1,304
Lincoln	1,159	734
Lyon	12,396	759
Mineral	1,225	809
Nye	10,987	933
Pershing	1,928	940
Storey	5,066	794
Washoe	196,641	854
White Pine	4,276	968
Footnotes (1) Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data. (2) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.
Note: Includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs. Data are preliminary.

Table 3. Covered employment and wages by state, third quarter 2014

State	Employment		Average weekly wage (1)
	September 2014 (thousands)	Percent change, September 2013-14	Average weekly wage	National ranking by level	Percent change, third quarter 2013-14	National ranking by percent change
United States (2)	137,724.1	2.0	$949	--	2.9	--
Alabama	1,871.2	1.3	815	34	2.5	30
Alaska	344.7	-0.1	1,019	9	3.0	19
Arizona	2,539.6	1.8	876	24	2.0	40
Arkansas	1,170.9	1.3	737	47	1.8	44
California	16,013.4	3.1	1,095	5	3.7	7
Colorado	2,443.0	3.7	982	12	3.0	19
Connecticut	1,663.2	0.8	1,124	4	1.4	49
Delaware	426.1	1.9	961	16	2.2	37
District of Columbia	732.9	0.8	1,631	1	4.5	2
Florida	7,748.4	3.3	826	32	2.1	38
Georgia	4,059.0	3.4	891	21	2.8	23
Hawaii	625.1	0.9	870	25	3.9	4
Idaho	658.4	2.1	721	50	2.6	26
Illinois	5,807.4	1.2	982	12	2.5	30
Indiana	2,924.7	1.4	799	39	1.9	42
Iowa	1,528.8	1.1	800	38	3.6	10
Kansas	1,363.1	1.2	794	40	2.3	35
Kentucky	1,827.8	1.8	781	42	2.5	30
Louisiana	1,928.3	1.7	852	27	3.1	16
Maine	604.5	0.3	754	46	2.6	26
Maryland	2,574.5	1.1	1,042	8	3.1	16
Massachusetts	3,386.7	1.8	1,164	2	3.0	19
Michigan	4,141.0	1.7	896	19	2.4	33
Minnesota	2,757.9	1.1	965	15	2.9	22
Mississippi	1,105.0	0.5	697	51	1.3	50
Missouri	2,686.4	1.0	828	31	2.7	25
Montana	449.5	0.7	732	49	3.7	7
Nebraska	950.0	1.1	779	43	1.8	44
Nevada	1,215.8	4.0	840	28	0.5	51
New Hampshire	633.5	1.4	927	18	3.6	10
New Jersey	3,880.4	0.8	1,087	6	1.7	47
New Mexico	804.0	1.1	786	41	2.6	26
New York	8,902.1	2.0	1,145	3	3.2	15
North Carolina	4,085.5	1.9	839	29	2.8	23
North Dakota	455.9	4.3	977	14	6.1	1
Ohio	5,219.1	1.4	863	26	3.1	16
Oklahoma	1,592.3	1.0	826	32	3.6	10
Oregon	1,752.8	2.4	887	22	3.6	10
Pennsylvania	5,676.2	1.0	937	17	2.6	26
Rhode Island	471.8	1.4	895	20	1.8	44
South Carolina	1,902.7	2.4	768	45	2.4	33
South Dakota	415.8	1.7	733	48	3.7	7
Tennessee	2,775.5	2.4	837	30	2.1	38
Texas	11,433.6	3.1	988	11	3.8	6
Utah	1,304.7	3.1	803	37	1.5	48
Vermont	306.5	1.2	805	36	2.3	35
Virginia	3,667.9	0.6	989	10	2.0	40
Washington	3,112.8	3.2	1,087	6	3.9	4
West Virginia	709.3	-0.2	778	44	3.5	14
Wisconsin	2,783.1	1.1	808	35	1.9	42
Wyoming	291.3	1.7	877	23	4.4	3
Puerto Rico	896.7	-1.5	505	(3)	0.8	(3)
Virgin Islands	37.5	-1.0	720	(3)	2.0	(3)
Footnotes: (1) Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data. (2) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands. (3) Data not included in the national ranking.
Note: Data are preliminary. Covered employment and wages includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs.